Love Blossoms In Time
by Runaway Smiles
Summary: Small scenes of Kagome and Inuyasha's lives as they grow up together.  Read on to see how their childhood friendship blossoms into something so much more.
1. Chapter 1

_**Love Blossoms In Time - Chapter 1: The Sandbox**_

_**Disclaimer: I do **__**NOT**__** InuYasha in any way, shape, or form!**_

_**A/N: **__Hey! This is just something that popped into my head when I was having a little brainstorming session. It's going to be my first multi-chapter story! I wanted to take it slow and start with just one-shots, but this idea came and once I started I couldn't stop! The length of this will depend on how my inspiration flows. So far I have a couple of cute little chapters forming in my brain :). __Anyway, I'm rambling. Let me just let you get to the story. So here it is. Enjoy!_

_**P.S.: **__There are demons, hanyous, and so on and so on in this. I'm a bit rusty on the topic though, so I may need help at times on the subject so I appreciate all that I can get._

_**P.S**__**.S.: **_

_Kagome is five. _

_InuYasha is five._

_Kouga is five._

_Sango is six in a half._

_(I will be putting up all the main characters__ages like this in the beginning of each chapter. You'll see why as the story progresses.__)_

_**Chapter 1**_

_**The Sandbox**_

"Patty cake! Patty cake! Baker's man! Bake me a cake as fast as you can!"

Kagome's little voice rang across the playground as she played the timeless game of Patty Cake with a little Sango, who went through the motions of the game unenthusiastically. Kagome on the other hand, happily sang along to the song, clapping her hands against the older girl's. Sango rolled her eyes when they were finally finished.

"Okay, we finished playing like I promised! Now let's go play in the sandbox." Sango declared, sticking like glue to her tomboy attitude. Kagome attempted to roll her eyes, unsuccessfully. Sango laughed at the younger girl's try, ruffling her hair in a friendly, teasing notion.

"Fine." Kagome huffed, allowing her friend to pull her away to the sandbox area. Sango cheerfully skipped over to the sandbox, ignoring Kagome's reluctant vibe. Only images of giant sand castles floated through her mind.

Shouting brought Sango out of her little reverie in a flash. Both girls looked over to the sandbox to find a brawl taking place. The participants in it: a certain white haired hanyou, InuYasha, and black haired wolf demon, Kouga. Surrounding them were a bunch of other little children wondering what was going on and why they couldn't play in the sandbox.

"What's going on?" Kagome asked one of the bystanders, a girl around her age.

"Kouga and InuYasha are fighting again." The little girl responded in an annoyed tone of voice. She crossed her arms over her chest and furrowed her brow in an angry expression. "It's not fair! They always fight in the sandbox and then nobody else gets to play." The girl continued, stomping her sandaled foot on the ground to add effect. She glared at the two boys, who where hogging up the sandbox.

Kagome turned her attention to the two boys, tuning in to what they were saying.

"You did too kick sand on me!" Little InuYasha yelled at little Kouga angrily. His face was red with anger, a slight contrast to his milky white hair that fell in long sheets on either side of his face. The two white fluffs for ears atop his head twitched occasionally in irritation.

"Nah ah! No I didn't!" Little Kouga yelled back, arms crossed over his chest. His black hair was tied in its usual high ponytail. His face scrunched up in annoyance at the little hanyou before him.

"Ah huh! Yea you did! And you keep knocking over my sand castle! And you're not giving me enough room to build anything!" InuYasha yelled in complete frustration, his fist clenched tightly at his sides.

"You're just a big baby!" Kouga retorted, wearing a smug look on his face at such a brilliant comeback. He smiled maliciously at InuYasha. "What do you have to say to that, mutt?" Kouga asked laughing meanly.

"Don't call me that!" InuYasha screamed before lunging at Kouga. The two rolled around in the sand, pulling each others' hair and shirts. All the other children watched unsure of what to do. A couple looked around to see if any parents were coming over to break them up, others simply walked away, and still others chose either InuYasha or Kouga's side and cheered them on. Surprisingly no parent made their way over to the fighting children to break them up as usual.

"They're so stupid." Sango rolled her eyes at their ridiculous behavior. "Come on Kagome! Let's go play on the swings instead." Sango took the girl's hand and started pulling her off toward the swings.

"But I wanna play in the sandbox." Kagome whined wiggling out of Sango's grip she carefully made her way over to the two boys killing each other in the sand. She stood over them, her hands on her hips. "Stop it you two, right now!" She yelled at them in her best grown-up voice. The two boys stopped to look up at her. Grains of sand clung to their clothes. "Now you two better stop fighting right now or else I'm gonna beat you both up." She told them sternly. Both boys separated from each other, sitting crossed legged on the sand in front of her.

"You can't beat us up! You're just a girl." Kouga said from his spot on the sand. He crossed his arms stubbornly.

"You wanna bet?" Kagome glared at him. She reached over and punched him hard on the shoulder.

"Ow!" Kouga exclaimed. He jumped to his feet and was poised to push Kagome down onto the sand when instead he found himself pushed back onto the sand instead. He looked up to find InuYasha stationed protectively in front of Kagome, a low growl emitting from the hanyou's throat. To any adult the growl would be anything but menacing, but to the little wolf demon it was threatening as hell.

"You leave InuYasha alone or I'm gonna tell my mommy that you almost pushed me down on the ground." Kagome threatened Kouga from over InuYasha's shoulder. She stood on her tip toes to fit her head on InuYasha's shoulder to look down smugly at the little wolf demon on the ground.

"Fine." Kouga agreed reluctantly, refusing to look either of them in the eyes. He glared down at the sand.

"Yay!" Kagome squealed as though she had won a huge victory at war and not just a small fight at the sandbox. She wrapped her arms around InuYasha's neck from behind in a reverse bear hug. She let go of him seconds later, walking around him to look down at Kouga, not noticing how red InuYasha's cheeks were.

Kagome kindly outstretched a hand to help Kouga up. "Come on. Let's build the biggest, most gigantic-est sand castle in the whole wide world." She told him, her eyes lighting up at the thought.

Kouga took her hand and let her help him pull himself up. "Okay." He answered simply. Kagome clapped her hands together happily when Kouga was back on his feet. The little wolf demon softened a bit at the sight.

Kagome called over to the other little children enthusiastically telling them about her plan to make a giant sand castle. All their eyes lit up as well as they fell under the spell of Kagome. Kouga and InuYasha stood a short distance away watching her awestruck.

Kouga caught the look in InuYasha's eyes and glared at him. "Paws off mutt, she's my woman." Kouga told him. He had no idea what it meant, but he had often heard his father refer to his mother as "his woman" so he simply said it. InuYasha, who also had no idea what it meant, didn't like the sound of it and growled at Kouga all the same.

Before he could lunge for Kouga again however, Kagome was calling him over to her with her warm smile and shiny blue eyes, her voice was sweet and welcoming. He started his way over to her, pausing only to throw a smug smirk at back at Kouga, who stuck his tongue out in return.

He was barely even a foot away from her when an enticing smell grabbed the attention of his sensitive nose. He sniffed at the air, much like a dog, until his hanyou senses told him the smell was coming from Kagome. He deeply inhaled, drowning in her heavenly scent, letting his eyes slowly close.

"InuYasha?" Kagome's confused voice brought him back. He snapped open his eyes, coming face to face with the curious girl, her scent filling his nostrils. He jumped back in surprise, causing Kagome to do the same. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" The girl asked concerned. InuYasha responded in his signature "Keh" shrugging off Kagome's concern.

"Then what were you doing? You're eyes were closed and you kept sniffing the air. Like this," Kagome closed her eyes and stuck up her nose, sniffing the air in a way nearly identical to InuYasha's. "You looked like a puppy." Kagome giggled when she was done mimicking him.

"Keh. It was nothing." InuYasha snapped embarrassedly. He watched as Kagome's happy smile turned into a slight frown. He watched guiltily as she nervously bit her lip. "I mean," He started again, grasping for words, but only coming up with the truth. "You just smell really good." He mumbled under his breath, deciding to tell her the truth. He felt his stomach do a flip flop as he watched Kagome's face light up in a huge smile. A light pink dusted the girl's cheeks.

"Thanks InuYasha. I think your ears are really cute." Kagome beamed at his blushing face. "Now come on! You have to help me build this castle!" Kagome exclaimed, grabbing his wrist and pulling him over to where the other children were chattering excitedly with one another. Even Kouga stood talking to the girl Kagome had talked to earlier, who had been upset about Kouga and InuYasha fighting in the sandbox to begin with.

Then the serious business of building the most gigantic-est sand castle in the whole wide world came into play.

_**A/N: **__Hey! Did you like it? Fingers crossed that you did! Sorry if I'm not very accurate on how a five year old would act. I haven't been five in a long time. _

_**P.S: **__The rest of the story will consist of little scenes like the one you just read taking you throughout the life of Kagome and InuYasha together. __I don't even know if I could call this a story. In my head it's really just a bunch of short, sweet scenes revolving around the same people as they get older. I'm new to fanfiction so I don't know what the special fanfiction term is (or if there even is one) for what this is I'm writing, so I guess we'll just call it a story for now. If it does have another special name, feel free to let me know. I hope that makes sense… Well just grin and bear with me. I have a really good feeling about this and I want to try my best to make it great for you guys. _

_**P.S.S.: **__The rating will be K+ for now but it might go up as Kagome and InuYasha get older for language because let's face it, all teenagers curse. I for one curse like a trucker in the company of my friends. _

_Reviews are greatly appreciated! _

_Lots Of Love,_

_Runaway Smiles_ :)


	2. Chapter 2

_**Love Blossoms In Time**_ - _Chapter 2: Fireflies (Prettier)_

_**Disclaimer: I do **__**NOT**__** own InuYasha in any way, shape, or form!**_

_**A/N: **__Hey! First off: God do I feel horrible about not updating in so long! But now that summer has arrived I will be trying to update more frequently! I also have to admit that I had a bit of trouble with this chapter since I've come up with a horrible case of writer's block, but I'm back and trying! Second: Don't make fun of me but I just realized that you get an email every time someone favorites your story or reviews or something like that and I am pleasantly surprised to see that a handful of people did that for both this story and my other one so I just have to say Thank You Sooooo Much! It really means a lot to me and I really hope I don't disappoint. Anyway as usual I'm rambling, sorry, so here's chapter two! Enjoy!_

_**P.S.: **__Kagome is six._

_ InuYasha is six._

_(Sorry I forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but only the people actually in the chapter itself will be listed with an age. So that means that only Kagome and InuYasha are in this one.)_

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><p><em><strong><span>Chapter 2<span>**_

_**Fireflies (Prettier)**_

The sky erupted in shades of pinks, oranges, and reds as the sun slowly slinked across the blue sky. It had been a fairly calm spring day and that calm seemed to be slipping its way into the night as well. It was the time of year when everything wasn't cold anymore, but warm, and the flowers started to bud, and children's laughter could be heard as they ran around free of heavy coats and hats at last. Kagome sat on the ground, her back braced against the big, old tree at her home, on the shrine, that her grandfather was always telling her ghost stories about. She watched as the magnificent sunset unfolded before her eyes. An ice cream cone, which was quickly melting, was poised directly in front of her mouth. She hardly noticed as the sweet treat started to melt onto her hands and drip onto the skirt she was wearing.

"Hey Kagome, whatcha lookin' at?" InuYasha's rough, but curious voice pulled her out of her trance. She stared over at him with a kind look in her eyes as he went over and sat down next to her, their shoulders nearly touching. He then followed Kagome's previous line of view to see the explosion of colors that was the sunset.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Kagome asked innocently. She still didn't seem to notice the mess of ice cream all over her hands and skirt. She blinked up at the darkening sky, watching as it changed color ever so slightly.

"Keh." InuYasha scoffed simply, but he looked up at the setting sun anyway. "I've seen prettier." He added without thinking.

Kagome looked over at him in delighted shock. InuYasha never said the word pretty or anything even remotely related to the word. He always said that it was a "girly sissy word for girly sissies to use". She somehow managed to suppress the giggles that threatened to bubble out of her mouth.

"Oh really? Like what?" Kagome asked. InuYasha turned beet red as he realized that he had said the word prettier and quickly grasped for words to say. His mouth opened and closed like a fish as he took a few seconds before answering.

"I meant cooler." He corrected, deciding that that was the most important thing to do. He refused to meet Kagome's curious gaze as she continued to stare at him. "I said cooler." He added, mumbling the sentence under his breath. Kagome finally unleashed a few giggles at his silly behavior, but didn't press the matter.

"Ok than what's cooler?" She asked, still wanting an answer from the little hanyou. She took a carefree lick at her ice cream, her whole hand now covered in a liquid vanilla white cast.

"Well," InuYasha started hesitantly, not wanting Kagome to laugh at him. "In the summer, when the night time starts and the sun goes down, if you're really, really, super-dooper lucky than you will see fireflies." A certain light lit up in InuYasha's eyes as he talked, remembering the little bugs that fluttered across the sky, lighting up at random.

Poor Kagome only had a confused look on her face. "What are fireflies?" She questioned, looking over at InuYasha.

InuYasha sat for a minute and thought about the best way to explain the little bugs to her. "Well they're these bugs," At the mention of bugs Kagome made a face and quickly interrupted.

"I don't like bugs. They're icky and ugly." She shivered at the thought of the mere creatures.

"But you like ladybugs." InuYasha countered, looking over at her confused. Kagome's face showed no other expression except confusion.

"What do you mean? Ladybugs aren't bugs, are they?" She asked, her whole world being thrown off balance at the idea. It couldn't be true, could it? Ladybugs were so cute and small, unlike the ugly flies she had seen swarming around her food once when she had accidentally left it outside. They had ugly, scary looking faces that made Kagome lose her appetite every time she thought about them.

"Of course they are! Just listen to the name: ladyBUGS." InuYasha reasoned with her, emphasizing the bugs in ladybugs. Kagome sat and thought about this mind blowing information. It took a few seconds before she finally accepted the shocking realization with a look of awe on her face.

"Wow! I never knew that." She whispered over to InuYasha, she was impressed that he knew this and it showed in her tone of voice. "So tell me more about these fireflies." She told him. Sometime when she was talking to him, she had placed the ice cream cone on the ground an arms length away from her, and it was beginning to be invaded by ants. Kagome transferred the messy, melted ice cream residue from her hands onto her poor, unsuspecting skirt.

"Um... Well their really small, and oval shaped, but the coolest part about them is that their butts light up every couple of seconds." InuYasha grew more animated as he spoke and Kagome easily fell victim to his enthusiasm. "One summer my dad took me and my mom on vacation and there were millions of fireflies there and all their butts would light up!" InuYasha told her with a laugh. "Me and my dad even got a jar and caught some!" He finished with a smile still stuck on his lips. Kagome's little eyes lit up with excitement, trying to imagine how fireflies and the scene InuYasha was raving about would look like.

"Whoa! That sounds awesome!" She admitted sincerely. She wished that she could have seen the millions of fireflies all aglow in the summer night sky.

"Yea. It was the coolest thing I've ever seen." He sighed dreamily thinking about the day he was talking about and relishing in the sweet memory.

The two sat in this daydreaming state for awhile until Kagome's mother's voice brought them out of their reveries. "Kagome? Kagome, dinner's ready!" She called as she made her way over to the tree where Kagome and InuYasha were sitting. She stood in front of them and smiled kindly down at them. She was a bit surprised to find InuYasha there, but didn't question it. "Oh! Hello InuYasha, when did you get here? What were you two doing?" She asked in a motherly tone of voice.

Kagome's eyes lit up with anticipation as she opened her mouth to tell her mother InuYasha's tale of fireflies. Mrs. Higurashi tried her best to stay focus and listen to the little six year old, but her attention did eventually falter as she noticed Kagome's sticky looking hands and dirty skirt. Her gaze wandered over to Kagome's long forgotten ice cream cone, which lay abandoned and encased by a sea of little black ants. Mrs. Higurashi sighed as the realization hit her.

"My goodness Kagome, is that your ice cream?" She asked, gripping tightly to her waning patience. Kagome followed her mother's gaze to the ant consumed cone and went pale. "Kagome, how many times have I told you not to leave food on the ground like that? Look at all those ants! And your clothes! They're all dirty! And I bet your hands are all sticky, aren't they?" Mrs. Higurashi went on full rant mode as she put her hands on her hips and stared down at her daughter. InuYasha slowly scooted himself away from Kagome, not wanting to be caught in the wrath of her mother.

"Mommy, I'm sorry. I forgot." She said guiltily, pouting her lips. Mrs. Higurashi sighed, unable to stay mad at the little girl when she stared up at her with those big, innocent eyes.

"Okay." She sighed again. "Go to your father and tell him I told him to clean you up." She told Kagome, who jumped to her feet, relieved that her mother no longer seemed as angry at her. She turned to look at InuYasha, who was slowly getting to his own feet, taking this chain of events as a clue to go home.

"Thanks for the story InuYasha. You're right; that does sound prettier than the sunset. I hope I get to see it someday. Maybe we can even see it together." She smiled happily at him before skipping off toward her house to find her father to clean up. InuYasha smirked as she left. He turned to face Mrs. Higurashi, who was eyeing the mess as though assessing the situation at hand.

"Good night, Mrs. Higurashi." InuYasha told the woman. She quickly looked up at the little boy with a smile before looking back down at the cone with yet another sigh.

"Oh yes. Good night, InuYasha. Tell your father I said hello." She told him politely. She didn't watch him go considering he knew the way like the back of the hand. Instead she walked away searching for a broom to clean up the mess.

He made his way over to the shrine steps and started the long descend down them. Only when he was half-way down the steps did he really register Kagome's last words to him. His eyes widened in the realization that his pride was on the line and that he needed a quick and easy way to fix the problem. He was already too far down to back track and go back up to the shrine to correct Kagome, so instead he carefully turned around on the step he was on to face the shrine. He took in a huge breath, filling his lungs with air. "I said cooler!" He yelled up at the shrine, hoping Kagome would hear him. With a satisfied nod he turned and continued on his way home with a smug smile pulling at his lips.

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><p><em><strong>AN: **__Well there you have it, chapter 2 complete. *Yawn* I apologize for any spelling and grammar mistakes. It's like 3 in the morning now and I'm just finishing up typing this so I'm really tired. *Yawn* I hope you enjoyed this and just to let everyone know Kagome lives in the shrine with her mom, dad, baby brother, Souta (of course), and her grandfather. InuYasha lives in the town below. It's just like in the actual series and manga except for InuYasha living in the town and all. *Yawn* Hope that makes sense. Any questions, feel free to ask. And any grammar or spelling mistakes in the dialogue between Kagome and InuYasha are most likely on purpose (or out of sleepiness). I will be publishing this once I wake up tomorrow morning. __Thanks to everyone who reviewed to my last chapter! It really means a lot to me! __Next chapter should be up soon. I'm going to go to sleep now... Night! :)_

_Reviews are greatly appreciated!_

_Lots of Love, _

_Runaway Smiles :) _


	3. Chapter 3

_**Love Blossoms In Time**__** – Chapter 3: A New Friend**_

_**Disclaimer: I do **__**NOT**__** own InuYasha in any way, shape, or form!**_

_**A/N: **__Hey! Surprisingly enough I don't have much to say this time… Weird… Lol XD So, here's chapter 2! Read on and enjoy!_

_**Character Ages: **_

_Kagome is seven._

_InuYasha is seven._

_Sango is eight._

_Miroku is eight._

_(Miroku gets introduced in this chapter! :) __Yay!)_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 3<strong>_

_**A New Friend**_

Lunch was a welcomed time of the day where everyone ate before piling into the schoolyard for recess. Kagome walked out of the school building with InuYasha close beside her.

"Hey Kaggy!" Sango's voice called across the schoolyard to her friend. Kagome looked to see Sango walking toward her.

"Hey Sango!" She smiled happily with a wave. InuYasha stood beside her, smirking.

"Hey InuYasha." Sango greeted him as she came to a stop in front of them.

Kagome noticed for the first time another boy standing slightly behind Sango.

"Who's that?" She whispered to Sango. InuYasha was also staring at the strange new boy.

Sango glanced back at said boy before returning her gaze to Kagome. "He's the new kid, Miroku." She whispered back. "He's kinda weird." She added quieter than before.

"Oh." Kagome nodded in understanding. She turned to look at Miroku who had stepped up to stand beside Sango.

"Hey Miroku. Nice to meet you." She said, outstretching her hand for him to shake.

"Hello Kagome. The pleasure's all mine." Miroku smiled, taking her hand and bringing it up to his lips. He placed a chaste kiss on her knuckles.

Kagome eyed him awkwardly, snatching her hand away. She looked at Sango and mouthed to her, "He _is_ weird."

InuYasha growled menacingly at Miroku.

His growling grabbed Miroku's attention. "Hello... And you are?" He asked politely.

"InuYasha." InuYasha growled at him.

Miroku held out a hand for him to shake.

"You better not kiss my hand." InuYasha grumbled, eying his hand suspiciously.

Miroku chuckled. "No I won't kiss your hand, InuYasha."

InuYasha glanced at his hand one last time before hesitantly shaking it. He quickly pulled away, however, just in case.

Miroku shook his head in amusement.

"So, do you wanna play tag?" Kagome's little voice piped up. Sango, Miroku, and InuYasha turned to face her.

"Okay!" Sango squealed.

Miroku smiled at Sango before nodding his head okay.

InuYasha simply shrugged with his signature "Keh."

"Okay, then that means... You're it InuYasha." Kagome laughed, pushing InuYasha in the shoulder before sprinting away. Sango and Miroku were running in opposite directions in the blink of an eye.

InuYasha smirked, his doggy ears twitching and swerving towards every sound until he zoned in on the sound of Kagome's giggling. He immediately took off after it.

Within seconds he caught sight of Kagome's long, silky black hair and using his hanyou speed was right on her heels, easily catching up to her.

He was running so fast that when Kagome slowed down to turn he collided right into her. The two fell to the hard ground and lay there in a tangled heap of legs and arms. Sango and Miroku came running over to them after witnessing the collision.

"Hey! Are you guys okay?" Miroku asked.

Sango eyed them concerned.

InuYasha and Kagome worked to untangle themselves from each other, Kagome giggling the whole time. InuYasha sprung to his feet as fast as he could. He looked down at Kagome's smiling face and smirked himself. He held out a hand to help her up. She gladly took it and pulled herself to her feet. She suddenly winced when she put her weight on her left leg.

"Ouch!" She looked down at her leg to see her knee bleeding. Sango followed her gaze and gasped at the sight.

"Oh no! Kaggy you're bleeding!" She exclaimed.

Miroku and InuYasha looked down at Kagome's knee and both gasped as well. InuYasha felt a pit of guilt settle in his stomach.

"Come on. You need to get to the nurse." Miroku said rationally.

"I'll take you." Sango said, making a move to grab Kagome's hand when InuYasha beat her to it.

"No! I'll take her. It was my fault." InuYasha exclaimed, grabbing her hand. Miroku and Sango watched him curiously, but didn't question him as he carefully brought Kagome to the nurse's office.

Once there, Kagome and InuYasha stood hand in hand waiting for the nurse, Mrs. Mori, to notice them.

Kagome softly cleared her throat after a second. "Um... Mrs. Mori?"

Mrs. Mori instantly turned to face them. She raised an eyebrow at their hand holding, but decided not to question it.

"Why hello there! What seems to be the problem?" She asked, smiling down at the two of them.

Kagome glanced down at her bloody knee and Mrs. Mori followed her gaze.

"Oh goodness! How did this happen?" She exclaimed, taking Kagome's free hand and leading her to a chair.

InuYasha didn't let go of her other hand and stood beside her as Mrs. Mori shuffled around her office for the supplies needed to patch up Kagome's knee. She then went to work, cleaning Kagome's knee and slapping a band-aid on it.

"There you go." She said, smoothing down the edges of the band-aid. "Now, how did this happen?" She repeated her question, switching her gaze from Kagome to InuYasha who stared at the ground guiltily. Her gaze settled on InuYasha and his guilty expression.

"Well... Um..." He started, looking anywhere, but Mrs. Mori. "We were running... And then..."

"I tripped!" Kagome interrupted quickly. Mrs. Mori and InuYasha looked over at her in surprise.

"You tripped?" Mrs. Mori asked her suspiciously.

Kagome nodded vigorously at her. "Yup! I tripped. I'm really clumsy." She shrugged nonchalantly, taking the blame.

Mrs. Mori nodded slowly, not completely buying what Kagome said, but letting it go anyhow. "Ok. Well, get back to recess... But be careful. Have fun." She smiled at them kindly.

Both nodded before heading out of her office. They slowly walked down the hall in silence.

"Um... InuYasha? Can I get my hand back?" Kagome asked, looking down at their still conjoined hands.

InuYasha quickly let go of her hand, his cheeks turning red. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked next to her, staring at the ground in front of him.

"I'm sorry, by the way." He mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

"For what?" Kagome asked, smiling at him.

"Running into you." He sounded guilty as he said this, still avoiding looking at her.

"Oh! It's okay. It was just an accident." She giggled at him. "Besides, it was funny."

InuYasha looked up at Kagome in surprise. Seeing her smiling face, he smirked gratefully at her. "Yea, it was kinda funny." He laughed.

"Come on! Let's go find Sango and Miroku so we can finish playing!" Kagome exclaimed. She grabbed InuYasha's hand and pulled him back outside to join their friends and enjoy the rest of their recess.

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><p><em><strong>AN: **__Well, there you have it! Chapter 3 complete! Hope you liked it! And as a special surprise I'm going to be putting up Chapter 4 today too! Yay! So look out for that! So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks to everyone who favorited, reviewed, and alerted my story! It really means a lot to me! Next chapter will be up VERY soon. Within the hour actually XD See you soon! Bye… for now! _

_Reviews are greatly appreciated!_

_Lots of Love,_

_Runaway Smiles :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Love Blossoms In Time – Chapter 4: Dancing In The Rain**_

_**Disclaimer: I do **__**NOT**__** own InuYasha in any way, shape, or form!**_

_**A/N: **__Hey! I'm back… again! Geez, twice in one day. I'm on a roll! So happy that I got chapter 3 AND chapter 4 up! Like chapter 3 I don't really have anything to say, strangely enough. So, I'll just let you go. __Read on and enjoy!_

_**Characters Ages: **_

_Kagome is eleven._

_InuYasha is eleven._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 4<strong>_

_**Dancing In The Rain**_

Sunlight peeked through the pink curtains of Kagome's room, settling in rays over her sleeping form. Wrapped in a cocoon of blankets and warmth, the real world seemed like a myth as she drifted along the lazy river of her dreams.

This serene state was shattered, however, as the lights were flicked on and the blankets ripped off of Kagome's sleeping form. "Time to wake up kiddo!" Her father's loud, booming voice echoed off of the walls.

Drowsily, Kagome groped for her missing blankets, keeping her eyes shut tight the whole time. When she was met with nothing but air, she gave up on her search and instead curled up into a tight ball, waiting for sleep to once again take her.

She had no such luck, though, as her father opened up the curtains, letting sunlight bath over her. "Up and at 'em kiddo!" He said, a little bit louder this time. He made his way over to Kagome's bed and sat on the edge. He then proceeded to shake Kagome awake.

"No!" She groaned, moving to the other side of her bed in a desperate attempt to escape her father's annoying presence.

Her father let out a chuckle, stretching his hand out to continue to shake her. "Come on. You have to go to school." He reasoned with her.

"No I don't wanna go to school!" Kagome argued sleepily. She buried her head in a pillow as she continued to move away from her father.

She kept moving slightly, trying to move away from his hand until finally she came to the end of the bed and fell right off. She let out a quick shriek and landed on the cold floor with a thud.

She looked up at the bed to find her father sitting on it, grinning at her smugly. He had come into her room with a mission; to wake her up, and he had succeeded. Kagome groaned in defeat as she got up and started getting ready for school.

After brushing her teeth, a quick shower, combing her hair, and getting dressed in jeans and a blue long-sleeved shirt, Kagome made her way down to her kitchen for breakfast.

Souta sat shoveling a bowl of some sugary cereal or another into his mouth while her mother and father simply sipped on giant mugs of coffee.

"Morning sunshine." Her father smiled evilly at her as she got herself a bowl, grumbling the whole way. Mrs. Higurashi smiled lovingly at her husband and daughter, amused by their morning behavior.

When Kagome reached for the cereal box that sat in front of Souta he quickly snatched it up, holding it out of her reach. "Souta, give me the cereal." Kagome growled out through clenched teeth. She was NOT a morning person at all.

"I'm reading it!" Souta called. He on the other hand had no problem with mornings, but then again he was young and naive.

"Give me the box!" Kagome grounded out more forcefully this time. Mrs. and Mr. Higurashi stood watching them, ready to diffuse the situation the second things got even slightly out of hand.

"What's the magic word?" Souta asked stubbornly. His ability to be annoying, even this early in the morning, pissed Kagome off to no end.

Kagome took in a deep breath to control herself, knowing that if she attacked her brother she would be the one suffering the consequences, not him.

"Please." She breathed out.

Souta hesitantly handed her back the box. When she had her hand on one side of the box he kept his on the other and asked, "And now?"

Kagome glared at him, but answered all the same. "Thank you."

Souta let go of the cereal box with a smug smile and returned to his bowl of cereal.

Kagome glared daggers at him before helping herself to breakfast. Their parents eyed the two with a glint of amusement in their eyes.

Once breakfast was eaten Kagome and Souta piled into their mother's car.

"It looks like it's gonna rain." Mrs. Higurashi said aloud. "I put umbrellas in both of your bags. Kagome I might be a little late picking you guys up after school. There's a note for your teacher saying so. Stick with your brother, okay?" She told them addressing Kagome directly for the last two sentences.

"Okay." Kagome said. She looked out of the window and had to agree with her mother. The sky was gray and dark, thick ominous clouds stretching across the sky and covering the sun. Even the air had the heavy scent of rain in it.

Kagome was pulled from her thoughts as her mother pulled up in front of their school. With a smile and goodbye kiss, she jumped out of the car and made her way into school, prepared for an uneventful day of learning.

Kagome had been dead on when she had thought the day would be uneventful. Her only relief from the monotone drone of her teacher being lunch when she was able to laugh and joke around with her friends.

Around that time a soft drizzle had started to wet the ground. By the time dismissal rolled around the soft drizzle had worked its way up to a heavy downpour as the rain fell to the ground in thick sheets. Kagome was thankful for the umbrella her mother had packed her as she wandered around the schoolyard. Souta stood a short distance away splashing into puddles while a teacher stood in the entrance of the school, sheltered from the rain, chatting amiably about something to a fellow co-worker, occasionally glancing over at Kagome and Souta to make sure they were okay.

Kagome noticed a person sitting on the other side of the schoolyard sitting on another row of steps that led up to a second entrance to the school. With a quick glance at Souta to make sure he was fine and at the teacher who nodded to her in turn before returning to their conversation, she started her walk over to the person. A few steps later she caught a glimpse of long white hair and immediately knew who the person on the steps was.

"Hey InuYasha." She watched as his dog ears, now wet dog ears, atop his head twitched towards the sound of her voice. They had always fascinated her and she loved to watch them twitch and swivel towards different sounds. They were so cute and soft looking, too, and she always had the urge to touch them whenever they caught her attention.

"Hey Kagome." He responded looking up at her. It was rather difficult with the rain falling in his face. His long, silver hair was soaking wet and plastered to his face. His clothes, also extremely wet, stuck to his skin.

Kagome, noticing he didn't have an umbrella, stepped closer to him so that her own umbrella covered the both of them, or at least majority of the both of them. She sat down next to him on the step, not caring if she got her jeans wet. She shifted a little closer to him once she was seated so that she could be sure that he wasn't getting wet. She was sitting so close to him that their shoulders were touching and a light pink dusted InuYasha's cheeks at their close proximity.

They sat in a comfortable silence, listening to the rain as it pounded down on the sidewalk.

"Why don't you have an umbrella?" Kagome's voice broke the silence, curiosity dripping from it.

"I forgot." InuYasha answered simply with a shrug.

"Oh." Kagome responded in return, letting the silence take them again.

"Ugh! I hate the rain." InuYasha said suddenly. Kagome jumped slightly at the sound of his voice.

"Why?" She asked laughing, finding his attitude slightly amusing. She found it funny how her curiosity was always peaked when he said something.

"Because then you can't do anything." InuYasha sighed, scowling at the rain that surrounded them.

"Yes you can. There's tons of stuff you can do in the rain." Kagome disagreed just for the sake of disagreeing.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" InuYasha challenged, eying her carefully. He didn't move too much not wanting to get any more soaked then he already was. He found it strange how Kagome was so close to him and obviously getting wet because of his soaking clothes and skin, but didn't seem to mind.

"Well... Like... Dancing!" Kagome exclaimed, spitting out the first thing that came into mind.

"Dancing? In the rain?" InuYasha questioned teasingly. His signature smirk was plastered onto his face.

"Yup! Dancing." Kagome nodded her head stubbornly.

"Oh really? Then prove it." InuYasha continued to smirk at her, thinking he was very clever for thinking up such a comeback.

"But... Um... There's no music." Kagome said quickly, not really wanting to dance in the rain, but definitely not wanting to admit she was wrong to InuYasha. She bit her bottom lip nervously.

"Use your imagination." InuYasha told her, shrugging. He knew she was nervous by the way she bit her lip. She was so predictable sometimes.

"But... Um... But..."

"Ha! I knew it! You can't dance in the rain." InuYasha interrupted her. He grinned triumphantly.

"Yes you can! Watch! I'll dance in the rain, if... If... You dance with me!" Kagome said, smiling wickedly at the incredulous look on InuYasha's face.

"What?" He gulped. He switched his gaze from the rain to Kagome's smiling face.

"Unless you're chicken." Kagome teased starting to cluck at InuYasha.

"I'm not chicken." InuYasha growled at Kagome. "Fine. I'll dance with you." He agreed, standing up and taking a few steps away from the steps he was just sitting on and Kagome continued to sit on.

Kagome stared at him wide eyed, not expecting him to say yes. Seeing the cocky smirk on his face and the idea and letting him win was enough motivation for Kagome to stand up and close her umbrella. Without her umbrella as a shield, the rain pounded down on her instantly soaking her. She moved to stand in front of InuYasha and the two simply stood there facing each other for a few moments neither knowing what to do next. Kagome was the first to move as she grabbed InuYasha's wrist and started swaying back and forth. She started humming a tune that InuYasha couldn't put a name to, but sounded familiar enough.

InuYasha intertwined their fingers together unconsciously and took a step toward her, pulling her towards himself before taking a step out and pushing her back out as well. He repeated this, taking slow steps to the side so that as they were taking steps toward each other they were also spinning ever so slightly in a circle.

InuYasha's ears stood at attention paying close attention to Kagome's humming as he kept them in time. Kagome concentrated on humming her little tune and not stepping on InuYasha's feet.

The rain plastered Kagome's hair to her face as she looked down at her feet. She managed to glance up at InuYasha to find him looking at her and smiled a huge, bright smile. She could have sworn she saw his cheeks turn red, but didn't know for sure since he quickly looked down at his feet, suddenly finding them very interesting.

InuYasha and Kagome took one last step towards one another before InuYasha spun her out and back in, their bodies nearly touching as they stood, fingers intertwined, in the rain. Kagome stopped humming and they stood staring at each other for one last moment before pulling away.

"See I told you so." Kagome said, smiling as she looked up at InuYasha, her cheeks stained red.

"Yea." InuYasha breathed, staring at Kagome as though in a trance. He couldn't pull his eyes away from hers.

"I didn't know you could dance." Kagome laughed nervously, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Neither did I." InuYasha joked.

Kagome laughed kindly at his joke causing him to turn beet red. She smiled at him and was about to say something when the honking of a horn grabbed both their attentions. They both turned to see Mrs. Higurashi pull up in her car, her windshield wipers moving across her windshield in rapidly, trying to keep the rain from them. She waved at Kagome to hurry up as Souta pulled open the door and got into the backseat.

"Do you need a ride?" She asked, already making a move to leave.

"Oh! No... My dad's coming to get me. He should be here soon." InuYasha told her, shaking his head in an attempt to clear his jumbled thoughts.

Kagome eyed him suspiciously before nodding slowly. "Okay, but take this so that you can stay dry… Even though you're already soaked." She thrust the umbrella into his hand, laughing, before running off to her mother's car, quickly jumping in.

InuYasha watched as the car peeled away from the curve and down the road. He slowly looked down at the umbrella with its flower print design. _She's such a girl._ He thought with a smile, opening up the umbrella and holding it over his head. He slowly walked back over to the step and sat down to wait for his dad.

_**~In The Car~**_

Kagome's mother sat on the edge of her seat. She was squinted to see through the heavy rain. "Can you believe this rain?" She questioned her kids incredulously. "It came out of nowhere."

She cast a quick glance in her rearview mirror at Souta and then a sideways glance at Kagome. She had to do a double take at the sight of Kagome completely soaked to the bone. "Why are you all wet? What were you doing?" She asked her daughter, her tone both confused and curious.

"Dancing." Kagome answered simply, dreamily. A small smile crept onto her lips at the thought.

"Dancing? In the rain?" Her mother questioned her suspiciously.

Kagome nodded, her smile growing.

Mrs. Higurashi continued to switch her gaze from the road to her daughter in confusion before finally smiling herself. "You better not get sick." She laughed lightly, shaking her head.

That small smile stayed on Kagome's face for the rest of the day, a similar one could also be found on InuYasha's as they both thought the same thing: _Dancing in the rain was a lot more fun than I thought it would be._

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><p><em><strong>AN: **__Well, there you go! I personally like this chapter. The way her dad woke her up is really how my parents wake me up for school sadly. :( __And I love dancing in the rain! If you haven't danced in the rain then you seriously have to and fast because it's the most fun and childish thing you can do while everyone around you is busy growing up. :) __Anyways, hope you liked! Thanks to all those who favorited, reviewed, and alerted! It really means a lot to me! Chapter 5 will hopefully be up soon! Until next time!_

_Also, I will be putting up another story, very soon. By the end of this weekend hopefully so just keep an eye out and check that out _

_Reviews are greatly appreciated!_

_Lots of Love,_

_Runaway Smiles :) _


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